Review: Servants of the Empire: Edge of the Galaxy by Jason Fry (or, Imperial Hogwarts)

Edge of the Galaxy, by Jason Fry, is the first book in the new series ‘Servants of the Empire’, and it can easily be summed up in one simple phrase: ‘boy realises Empire is evil’. I can go home now, right? I mean, once that’s done I can stop? Probably best to write a little more. It’s a review, after all. I could probably also add a ‘duh’ on the end of that five word sentence, because really? It’s the Empire! They march around in faceless white armour and dull grey uniforms and ride in fighters that make incredibly annoying screeching sounds that probably causes dogs (space dogs?) to bury their heads in a baby Sarlacc pit. And really, you know something is evil when it upsets dogs, because they’re nature’s Sniffer Outer of Evil.

Yes, that’s totally a thing.

This is what the book is about: people who genuinely believe that the Empire is, ultimately, good. Maybe a little flawed, but good. Before I go further, I should point out that there are minor spoilers for the book and the TV series Rebels from here on out.

Review: Droids In Distress by Michael Kogge (or, Something Meta This Way Comes)

Droids In Distress, by Michael Kogge, is an odd one. For me, that is, as a reviewer. The book itself is good, don’t worry about it. Droids In Distress is a direct translation – from the perspective of Ezra – of the TV series Star Wars: Rebels. Which puts me in a rather odd position. Should I review the story of the episodes? Should I review how the book conveys the story of the episodes? Should I review just the book as its own entity? And there’s the meta aspect of it all: since the book is an adaptation of a TV show, I’m essentially reviewing a synopsis in a book of a TV episode that’s on TV. Okay, I’m slightly confused now. Is this what it’s like to be in the Matrix?

Ezra’s Gamble by Ryder Windham sees the very first appearance of one of our new characters, Ezra Bridger, from Star Wars: Rebels. As such, I went into the reading of this book thinking it would be a sort of coming-of-age story. One where we see a young(er, for this book takes place just before the video short Property of Ezra Bridger. We even get to see that clip in the book) Ezra get his first taste of danger, which sets him on the path to wanting to be a rebel. Instead, we don’t get that in this book. Which makes sense, I realized much later (I’m a little slow on the uptake, you may gather), because that’s what the TV show is for. With all that in mind, it makes for an odd introduction, so it’s best to not think of it as that. It is, at its heart, an adventure story. Also it has Bossk, the famed bounty hunter from The Empire Strikes Back. So there’s that.